Patients having wounds, lesions, burns or other similar trauma or injury require special treatment to preserve the function of the area of injury while promoting healing of the injury. For example, according to Smith et al., Burns 14,(5): 405-408, (1988), six principles have been formulated for the care of burned hands to achieve the return of optimal function, including: (1) to do no harm; (2) to maintain vascularity; (3) to prevent infection; (4) to obtain wound closure; (5) to preserve and regain motion; and (6) to obtain optimal functional rehabilitation. Many of the same principles would also apply to other body sites and other types of injuries.
Prior art medical dressings have not been manufactured from a material which provides optimal healing and function of the injured area. In addition, prior medical dressings have not provided a complete bandage or dressing which enables easy application, inspection of the underlying injury and removal of the dressing. Further, while various materials and methods of manufacturing medical dressings or bandages are known in the art, these materials and methods do not generally provide a versatile medical dressing for covering difficult body sites such as an injured hand, foot or other area of the body which is not easily protected by standard bandages or dressings.
For example, in one method for dressing a hand injury, prior art medical dressings or gloves are made by cutting two complimentary, flat, top and bottom hand-shaped sections and sewing them together around the perimeter, leaving an opening at the wrist end. One problem with using this type of glove to cover an injured hand is that the glove does not provide for an easy and comfortable insertion or removal of the hand. Further, gloves of this construction do not allow comfortable movement of the injured hand which could be harmful to return of optimal hand function.
Other prior art medical gloves or hand dressings have attempted to avoid the above-described problems by enlarging the overall size of the glove so that the opening is wide enough to insert the hand and provide a loose fit. However, one problem with such an over-sized glove construction is that the loose fit causes the glove or dressing to slip off the hand. Also, the over-sized glove construction may cause loss of hand coordination and manipulation skills. For example, the excess material of an over-sized glove may make it difficult to handle small objects such as writing instruments or eating utensils.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a versatile medical dressing for covering many different shapes and sizes of injuries including difficult-to-cover body sites such as a hand or foot. It is another object to provide a medical dressing which prevents adhesion of the dressing to an injury and enables optimal healing and function of an injured area of the body. It is yet another object to provide a medical dressing which enables a comfortable fit and easy application and removal of the dressing. It is another object to provide a medical dressing which facilitates inspection and treatment of an underlying injury.
In one embodiment, it is an object to provide a medical glove or mitten for covering or dressing hands having wounds, lesions, burns or similar injuries, which facilitates easy insertion and removal of the hand and a comfortable fit, while still enabling a simple glove or mitten construction. In another embodiment, it is an object to provide a boot for covering an injured foot. It is a further object to provide a medical dressing made from a unique material which facilitates function, rehabilitation and healing of an area of the body which has been burned, wounded or subjected to similar trauma or injury.